Organizations and users have an ever-growing need to store data on computer networks. Often, system administrators expand existing systems with additional devices capable of meeting demands. To take advantage of network growth, and to generally improve the distribution of data storage, system administrators need the ability to move data between storage devices.
Currently, when moving data, system administrators have to deny users access to any of the data being moved. Denying access to data for any period of time is generally undesirable. And for large networks that contain vast amounts of mission-critical data that is vital to the operation of an organization, denying users access to data may result in adverse consequences.
Some techniques exist to alleviate this problem. For example, system administrators generally schedule operations that deny access to users during time periods when networks experience the least amount of traffic. As demands on networks increase, this technique becomes more problematic. For example, users may require uninterrupted access to data for a host of reasons specific to their operations. And as the amount of data on networks grows, the time required to process the data increases.
A need exists to provide users' access to files in the process of being moved, preferably in a manner that is both convenient and efficient. A solution that meets this demand would preferably address these problems and other problems associated with the prior art.